distillation
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What could cause the temperature and pressure in a distillation tower to drop rapidly at the same time?
I think it’s very likely that the heat source reboiler or furnace at the bottom of the tower has stopped working
The entire driving force of the distillation column comes from the reboiler at the bottom of the column; once it stops supplying heat, the steam entering the condenser at the top of the column loses its source, and the reflux liquid causes the steam inside the column to condense and cool rapidly, resulting in a swift drop in the temperature and pressure of the distillation column.
The most obvious sign of flooding is a rapid increase in pressure, rather than a decrease
There’s no way it could be flooding! The result of flooding is an increase in both pressure and temperature, and reflux is also hindered.
Is the solution to that flooding issue to increase reflux appropriately and reduce steam accordingly?
After flooding, the mass and heat transfer balance throughout the entire tower is disrupted. It is necessary to stop the feeding and discharging of material into and out of the tower (the products at the bottom and top of the tower are no longer of acceptable quality). Stop heating the bottom of the tower (the reboiler) as well; wait until the liquid that has accumulated on the trays or packing flows down, and then restart the operation of the tower.
First, it is necessary to determine whether the part of the tower that drops suddenly is the stripping section, the distillation section, or whether the entire tower drops simultaneously……